There is currently known an apparatus that detects a target workpiece from workpieces contained in bulk in a box by using a three-dimensional image recognition device, recognizes a position and a posture of the workpiece, transmits information about the position and the posture to a controller of a robot arm through communication means, and picks the workpiece by controlling an operation of the robot arm based on the information about the position and the posture.
Depending on the position and the posture of the target workpiece, there is a possibility that a hand of the robot arm and the box interfere with each other when picking, so that the hand or the box is damaged. Damage of the hand or the box impairs a working efficiency.
In order to solve this problem, JP2012-223845A discloses an apparatus that creates three-dimensional polygon data about a shape of the hand of the robot arm and a shape of the box, and checks an interference between the polygon data of the hand and the polygon data of the box, on a real-time basis.